Electrical signaling device.



A PATENTED DECVU, i907.

J. P. WILLIAMS. ELEGTMGAL SIGNAMNG DEVICE.

` APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, v1907.

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No. 874,372. PATENTED DEC. 17.1907.

J. P. WILLIAMS..` ELECTRICAL SIGN'ALING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6,1907.

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i NoA 874,372. PATENTED DEG. 17, 1907.

. J. P. WILLIAMS.

ELECTRICAL SlGNALNG DEVICE. APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 6.1907.

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fa/.M @L M Straf/ump PATENTD DEG. u', 19074 J. P. WILLIAMS.' ELECTRICALSIGNALINC DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6,1907;

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wbewtofa JAMES POLK WILLIAMS, OF LATONIA, KENTUCKY.

ELECTRICAL SIGNALING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1'7, 1907.

Application filed June 6,1907. Serial 110.377.576. y

To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES PoLK 'WIL- LIAMs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Letonia', in the county of Kenton and State of,Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectrical Signaling Devices; and l do declare the foly lowing to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such-as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inelectrical signaling devices, and especially to a signal for givingnotice to two trains approaching each other from the same or oppositedirections upon the saine track, as', for instance, by arc lights whichare displayed Qin view of the engineer, as in the cab, andV il' desired,means may be provided to be `automatic'ally operated by saidsignalingmechanism for shutting oil' the steam and applying. the emergency brake.

More speciically used the system of signaling consists' in thevarrangement of suc-.

cessively arranged sections ofinsulated electrical conductors, as wiresor hollow tubin on opposite sides of a railway track, eac/eli conductorhaving at a location, preferably in its middle, a bend or elbow wherebyone portion of the conducting wire may be laid parallel/with and outsideof the track. 'lhere is a series of sections arranged as above describedfor each rail, the bending of the section of one rail being locatedintermediate the bend of the other section, preferably substantiallymidway.

` In utilizing the above described system of conductors, each engine ortrain is provided with an electrical generator and contact brushes,whereby as 3 two trains approach each other. in the same or fromopposite directions upon the correspondin sections or portions of theconductors, sai conductors will be energized by the generators on thetrain and lights will be caused to appear in each en ine, and therebygive notice ol the approac 1 of another engine from the front or rear asthe case may be.

Anotherobject oi the invention is to provide means for giving a 'warningif the track should be damaged: in any manner, as by a landslide, or thewashing out of a bridge, or an obstruction being placed upon the track,as a Jfallen tree.

l Another and important part of the invention resides in the provisionof a storage battery carried by or connected with the engine tenderwhich iskept constantly charged by and so constructed that when thegenerator still, a current from the battery will be connected to theconductor 'wires l'or energizing themand thereby giving a signal in thesame manner as though said generator was in operation. Means areprovided for automatically connecting the battery with the generatorwhen the train is in motion, but disconnecting it when the train stops.\Means are also provided for reversing the brushes when the engine runsbackward.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drai-vings, inwhich;-Figure 1 is a side velevation of an engine equipped with theinvention;' Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of a track provided withmy system of conductors and showing three engines thereon; Fig. Sis asimilar view showing one of the engines standing still and theconnection between the generator and the storage battery broken; Fig` eis a top plan view of a truck provided with my improved connectingmechanism; Fig. 5 is an end view of the truck; Fig. 6 is a cross sectionof a portion of the track 5 Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of oneof the brushes; Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view of a construction adated for use to indicate damage to the track; iv. 9 is a broken sideelevation of the same; Fig. 10 is a broken side elevation of one meansfor supporting the conductors; Fig. 11 is a view of part of an enginecab'provided with means for setting the air brake.

' Referring more particularly to the drawings, A indicates the rails ofa track upon opposite sides of each of which is arranged insulatedsections `B Q B of conductors, which may be 'formed as rods, wires orhollow tubing. These sectionsmay be of any desired length, preferablyabout six miles and the intermediate portion of each section is providedwith a bend or elbow' which is adapted to be passed under the rail,`whereby one end oi the section is upon the inside of the rail and theother end ol the section is on the outside. The adjacent ends of twosections ot conductors are adapted to overlap i each other, as it were,with the end ol one is not ruiming, as when the engine is standing theelectrical connections witha generator A tender of a section lying theadjacent end ofthe other section lying i upon the other side of therail, the free ends of each section terminating at a point adja- C3,mounted respectively upon the shaft C 'of the truck w vvmeans forengagmg eels C and the generator shaft C4.

The generator can be suspended from the truck in any desired manner, asby means of arms C5, and it may be actuated by any other means than thetruck wheels, as for instance, steam from the engine, or by a gasoleneengine mounted u on the tender but preferably upon a truc C7 connectedwith the engine tenderr A brush C8 is connected with the generator bymeans of a Wire H and is adapted to engage with the shaft C', wherebyelectrical communication is established between the generator and theground through said rail and truck wheels. Mounted u on the generatortruck are the contact brus es D, which may be of any desiredconstruction, .but preferably formed as a bar D1", provided with Wiresor suitable with the conducting wires and preferably sup orted at itsends by rollers D, which are adiapted to roll along the conductors. Thebar D10 is referably rovided with a hollow upright tub ar section 5which is adapted to be ally within a section D3 frame by means ofpivoted from the truck links or arms D2.

Coiled springs Ds are connected with the tube D5 and with the pivotalpoints of the Vlinks D2 for holding the bar Dlo ragainst the conductorat all times, thereby insuring a perfeet contact irrespective of themovements of withI the'- lconductors .Y another one K isjada conductorsoutside o and No. 2, and the t,he"engine. A shield D7 'is preferablyarranged to inclose each brush and a conducting wire Dl is arranged topass up through the tubes D5 and E3 and communicate with the Asignalingapparatus upon the engine, as lights, lainijZ. Two of the brushes D10and L' for" each engine are arranged to lengage vbetween the rails, and

the rail. Said brushes are electrically connected with lights No. 1lights -communicate with the ground wire H through the wires N and O,respectively.

In addition 6'5. charging theco'nductorsbetween two enupon one side' ofthe rail and held telescopic- Irent will pass from f the conductor tedto engage with they Where it can pass E, to

'to the foregoing ingang fof amar-f2- enerators D, a storage battery Gis provi preferably on the side of the' tender, which is adapted to beelectrically connected with the generator and the conducting wires ofthelighting system, as by means of wires G and Gr. The wire G leads fromone of the brushes D?" to the battery and the other wire G leads fromthe battery to the wire N between' Jlight No. 1 and the conducting wireH. lf desired, the wire ,H may be magnetized after it has ashed a light.,I

Se arable means are provided for breaking the e ectrical connectionbetween the .generator D and the brush D10 to which the battery Gr isconnected, which preferably consists of a lever E which is pivotallyconnected with said brush at one end and adapted to have its free endmoved into and out of engagement with ,a contact D9 from the generatorD; The lever E can be moved in any desired manner, preferably by meansof a lever F4,which is pivotally connected with the truck at fandconnected with the lever at one end by a link F5 and has its o positeend in engagement with a collar F2 s idably mounted on the shaft of oneof the supporting wheels of the tender, orthe motor truck,

where the latter is used. The collar F2 isada ted to be moved backandforth uponsaid sha 't by means of governor arms F3, which are unitedby means of balls F, in the ordinar manner. Whenv the truck is standingstill, the balls F6 Will be intheir retracted position and the end ofthe lever will be out at one end of the motor truck .or 4 Y of contactwith the contact D9 and the current from the storagebattery will be ableto pass over the circuits through which the current from the generatorpasses vwhen the train is in motion.

As above described, it is evident that as soon as two engines approacheach other from opposite directions upon the same block' or unbrokensections of the conductors, as shown at 100 and 200 inV Fig. 2, thecurrent will pass from the generator on each en ine to the other'engineand cause a light to e flashed from lamp 'l infront of the engineer,thereby notifying each engineer of the approachof another engine. Thiscurthe enerator of one engine, as 100, to the brus D, which is connectedtherewith by the lever E, through B to the brush L of engine 200, thencethrough Wire M to lamp 'I on engines 200, thence through Wire N Vto wireH, to the ground through the truck wheel, or be continued through thegenerator upon enginev 200, through its lever brush DI, thence backthrough the conductor B', to brush L-on engine 100, thence through lWireM to the li ht l. on said engine 100, and thence throng wire N to theWire lH, where it may be` grounded tln'ough the truck wheels, or it maycontinue through the generator Aof engine 100 and continue the course asabove uescribed. l

By connecting the storage battery G with the generator through thebrush'D and with the wire N" between light. I and the ground-wire H,'the battery isl constantly kept charged while the engine running,

' but as soon as the engine stops, the connection between thebrush D1and the generator is broken, as shown 'on engine 400 in Fig.,

2, and the current will then pass from the moving engine over. the samecircuit, as

above described, untilit reaches the point beyond lamp I where the wireGbranches off from the wire N, lfrom whence it. will pass to the batteryGand from there it will pass over the wire G to brush D10 of thestationary engine, and thence from the brush D10 over the section B" ofthe conductor to the brush Ii of v'the moving engine, and then throughlamp 2 on said engine, and then back to the generator on said engine, asabove described.

When one engine, as 300,' is approaching another, as 200,fnom the rearwith a break or bend of one of the conductors between them, and bothengines are moving, then the bent'section of the conductor between themwill be charged or energized by the current from the generator of engine200 throng the bent section to the brushK of engine 300, through theylamp 2 over the wires K', 0, and I-I to the ground, as heretoforedescribed, thereby indicating to the engineer of 300 that he is nearinganother engine. But if the forward en ine is standing l still, asindicated at 400 in fig. 3, then the battery G on i0() will be throwninto action and the current therefrom will pass over the circuit,including the lamps 2 and 1 of 300 and the brushes L of the two enginesto and through lamp 1 of 400, and thence to the battery over wire G.

In the drawings," the primary circuits, or those which are generated bythe engines as they are moving are indicated by arrows 1, while thecircuit from the battery is marked with arrows 2.

If desired, electro-magnets may be used in connection with the lampsinthe cabs for actuating a suitable mechanism for `shutting olf thesteam and applying the emergency brake, as shown in Fig. 11, where 1 and2 inuicate 'two of the lamps .in the cab 12 of the engine; 13 indicatesan electric motor in circuit with the lamps, and 14 the brake settingmechanism, which is connected with the motor by a pitman 15` In thismanner,

whenever a current causes the lamps to glow it will also apply. thebrakes and thereby sto the train.l

l ero it is vdesired toindi'oate damage to l the track, as from alandslide,` a"`mi`ssing *bridge or an obstruction of any kind, anadditional wire or conductor B" is connected. with/the inner end of eachof the conductors and arranged.- parallel therewith in position to beengaged by an additional brush P on the engine, as 'shown in full linesin Figs. 8

and 9, and in dotted lines in Fig. 5. In this construction the brushesare shown as pivotally connected with the free ends of arms Q so as topermit -of= their engaging with the track when the engine is runningeither forward or backward without' .danger of breakage. The arms Q areconnected with rock shafts R, which are located at 'opposite ends of aframe or support S and each shaft is provided with an ar'in T foractuating it. The arms T are connected by a rod U which will cause themto be actuated in unison so as to raise one set of brushes out ofcontact with the conductors when the other set is lowered. One of thearms T is preferably extended to form a handle by means of which itcanbe and the second set will be lowered into con-v tact with theconductors. Where the extra wireor conductor B is used, a circuit willbe established at all times through the inner or charging conductor, andthe eXtra conductor which will form a return wire of a circuit.including the brush D10 and the brush P.

The brush P is connected with the wire H by a wire W, whereby thecircuit is completed through the generator D, as heretofore described.The wire W is provided with a lamp 3, which glows at all times when thecircuit is complete, thereby indicating to the engineer that the trackis all right, Iup to a predetermined point ahead of him, but if anyportion of the track between him and said point should be damaged orobstructed, the circuit will be broken and the lamp 3 will not glow,thereby notifying him of the danger and warning him to proceed withoaution. In this construction, the extra conductors are provided'withseparable joints or contact points, as indicated at X, preferablyarranged at about 200 yards apart. The adjacent ends ofthe conductors Pat the breaks X are preferably supported in a forkedstanfh ard Y and areprovided with copper disks or ,buttons Z, held in yielding contact bycoiled springs Z on the conductors between the buttons and hollowinsulators Y upon the V upper ends of the arms of the standard. The

conductors pass freely through the insulators 'so that if any unusualpressure is exerted upon the conductor between'two standards,

' as from a fallen tree. or other obstruction, the

buttons will be separated, or if any portion 'tion is moving or standingstill.

-preach of engines from opposite directions,

' tion with said generator of the conductor be gone, the circuit will bethereby broken and lamp 3 .will not glow. The standards Y can be securedin position in any desired manner, as by being bolted to the ties X oithe track.

If it is desiredto cause a broken succession of flashes from the lampsin the cab, vertical points or rods may be placed at various intervalsbyv which arrangement when the train is in motion, the current may becarried in broken succession to the lamps in the cab, which lamps .maybe provided with suitable reiiectors. Or the axle may be provided withgearing which, when the engine is moving, will actuate suitablemechanism to make and break the circuit so as to indicate to theengineer on another engine whether the engine which is nearing him fromeither direc- By this arrangement, a more noticeable signal will begiven to the person in the cab having charge of the engine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters-Patent is 1. In an electric signaling apparatus, aseries oi independent, alternately arranged conductor sectionsonopposite sides of a railway track, each conductor section having a bend,whereby portions of each section eX- tend on opposite sides of each lineof rails oi the track, and signaling apparatus carried by engines,ywhereby signals. may be given in each cab, as circuits are formed, bythe apon independent conductor wires.

`2. In'an electric si naling apparatus for locomotives, series oindependent, alternately arranged conductor sections on oppositesides-oi a railway track, each conductor section having an elbow,whereby portions of each section extend on opposite sides oi each lineofrails oi the track, and signaling apparatus carried by a nals may begiven by the appro ach of engines in opposite directions, or in the samedirection and on the same track, on independent conductor wires. l

3. In combination with 'series of inde endent 'and alternately arrangedcon uctor wires, an engine and tender, an' electric generator, a brushcontacting withv said conductor-wires, and having electrical conneconlywhen the latter is in o eration.

n an electric signaling apparatus, a

enerator mounted on a suitable truck and' adapted to be operated fromtheshafts oi wheels running on the railway rails, a contact brush, and agovernor mechanism designed to establish an electrical connectionbetween said brush'and generator, when said truck is moving.

.5.A In an electric signaling apparatus, a

y tery, are vlights mounted ing part of the circuit of the arelocomotive, whereby sigmotor, a contact brush, a pivoted lever hav. ingelectrical connection with said brush, a

between the brush and motor.

6. In an electric signaling apparatus, a motor provided with a contactpoint, a contactbrush, a tender truck shaft, a sliding collar thereon,governor arms connected to said collar, a pivoted levervhavingelectrical connection with said brush and adapted to be moved into andout oi engagement with said contact point, and a lever between saidcollar and lever, whereby, as the governor is in operation, an electricconnection is-'iormed between the motor and brush.

7 In combination with an engine, an electric motor thereon and adaptedto be operated thereby, a storage battery,'a brush connected thereto,means for charging said batin the cab of the loconiotive, and a contactbrush on the-opposite side of the motor, having electrical connectinwith the arc light.

8. An-electric signaling device for engine cabs, having'in combinationwith conductor wires, yarc lights in each cab, a truck carrying agenerator, brushes adapted to contact with the inside sections oi theconductor wires, an outside brush ada ted to contact with an outsidesection oi t e conductor Wires, means for establishing electricalvconnections between the brushes and the arc lights in said cabs, andmagnetized grounding wires Jform- 9. In an electrical signalingapparatus'r'oi rail roads, insulated conductors arranged in sectionsupon both sides of the rails of the track, the adjacent ends ofsuccessive conductors overlapping each other, eXtra conductors connectedwith the inner ends of said conductors, means'ior completing electricalcircuits through said conductors, and means, for completing electricalcircuits through a portion oi each of said first-mentioned conductorsand the extra conductor connected therewith.

10. In an electrical signaling apparatus, a iorlqed standard, each forkof which is provided with a hollow insulator, conductors having theirends iii said conductors,'the adjacent ends oi said conductors beingprovided with buttons, and s rings on saidends for normally holding saibuttons in Contact.

ght current, f

In testimony whereof I haveffhereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses. l s JAMES POLK WILLIAMS. i

Witnesses:

GEORGE CADWALLADER, PETER' O'LINGER.

